Stupidity Has It's Rewards
by MaidofShadow
Summary: "I've always done stupid things, said stupid things, acted stupid. But this takes the cake. This was the stupidest thing I've ever done. I admitted I loved him. By all rights, I shouldn't have ever fallen in love with him. He was evil and horrible. He was the Duke of Buckingham" Duke of Buckingham/OC oneshot He takes a girl who tries to steal from him prisoner and she falls in love


**A Duke of Buckingham/OC oneshot because I do love pairing my OCs with Orlando Bloom characters :) Anyways, read, review and hopefully enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Three Musketeers.**

I've always done stupid things, said stupid things, acted stupid. But this...this takes the cake. This was the stupidest thing I've ever done.

I guess you're wondering what this incredibly stupid thing I did is. You probably want to know what I could've possibly done that was so dumb. Maybe some of you want to know so you can laugh at me or maybe because you need someone to pity right now or you could even just be plain curious about it. Whatever your reason is, I'll tell you anyways because I need to tell someone.

I admitted I loved him.

I didn't do it romantically or sweetly or like in a fairy tale. I wasn't crying like in one of my books, one of us wasn't dying; it wasn't a big dramatic scene. All he had been doing was talking to me, threatening me actually, and then he hit me with that cocky grin and the words had just slipped out.

By all rights, I shouldn't have ever fallen in love with him. He was evil. He was horrible. He was the Duke of Buckingham! Recognize that name? You know, the criminal who never goes to prison because of his high status? Yeah, that's him.

When I first met him, I was dressed as a boy in his office, trying to steal something of value. I don't remember what exactly, since it had been so many months ago but I do remember that I was going to be paid well to retrieve this particular object. That was the first stupid thing I did.

He had walked in and noticed me right away. He pointed a pistol at me and asked me what I was doing there calmly. I had replied with something sarcastic, the second stupid thing I did that day.

He reacted badly to my sarcasm and before I knew it, I was pinned up against the wall, his hand on my throat. He had threatened me and I only just then realized who I was dealing with. This man was dangerous in more ways than one. He was the handsomest man I had ever seen and while he looked a bit absurd in his get up there was nothing absurd about the strength in his hand as he squeezed my throat. His eyes darkened as I gasped a little and clawed at his fingers. That's when my cap fell off, revealing my long blonde hair. This time it was his turn to be surprised.

"You're a woman," he had said as he let me go.

I gasped and nodded as air was let back into my lungs. He had stared at me for a moment and I had remembered wondering what he was thinking. Eventually he handed me a glass of water, still regarding me with that unreadable expression on his face. I rubbed my neck as I drank it. I didn't know why he did what he did next then and I still don't know.

"Let me see," he had said softly and I showed him my exposed neck. He had gazed at it intently and touched the red marks that his fingers had made. They were already starting to bruise. I remember his breath on my neck making me close my eyes involuntarily and the feel of his fingertips grazing my skin causing me to shiver slightly. He seemed to be in a trance similar to mine His fingers touched the marks but soon he was tracing my jaw line and touching my chin. His eyes were dark again and his face was close to mine. I remember forgetting how to breathe, how to speak, how to move. I remember forgetting my own name while looking at him. That should've been a sign to how this would all end but I didn't pay attention to what was staring me in the face. That was the third stupid thing I did.

"Are you going to kill me?" I asked out of nowhere, snapping him out of his trance. He pulled his hand back from my skin as if I was on fire. For a moment he looked thoughtful.

"No," he decided and I couldn't help but notice how rich and smooth his voice was. "You shall be my prisoner."

He then called for the guards and they took me to the cells.

Soon after that day he began to visit me. He would threaten me. He would ask me who sent me. He would threaten me again. He would ask what they wanted. And then, you guessed it; more threatening. Amidst all that there were moments when we almost had fun together. We would laugh. We would smile. But most of all we got to know each other. Then we would realize what we were doing and he'd go back to the threatening.

At some point along the way, I fell hopelessly in love with him; another stupid, stupid thing to do.

He never did anything worse than threaten me after the first day. He took good care of me, actually. He made sure I was fed and comfortable. In many ways this life was better than the one I had left behind. I had lived on the streets pick pocketing, hoping I wouldn't be forced into prostitution. It didn't feel like a prison at all except for the fact that I couldn't leave but that was no matter. The time he spent with me and the books he gave me (I had, luckily, learned how to read before being forced out onto the streets) made the hours fly by.

After the first month or so he took me from the cells and gave me a room. It was a small one, to be sure, probably a maid's room but it was more than I had had in a long time. I still wasn't allowed to leave the room, except when he would call on me to eat dinner with him where he would threaten me some more.

He also gave me new clothes to wear. They weren't anything grand and expensive, only commoner's dresses but it was more than enough for me. I didn't like the large gowns that noblewomen would wear, they didn't seem worth the trouble and they didn't even look that good.

That pretty much brings us back to the present. Today, I did the stupidest thing yet. I admitted I loved him. He was a criminal, an evil man and even if he wasn't holding me captive it would've still been stupid for the single reason that a duke, such as himself, could never love, or even consider, a peasant like me. But I had done it anyways.

The day had started normally. I read my books and stared out the window. He couldn't visit with me today but he would have supper with me, as usual. When dinnertime came, I was called to his private dining room, the one he used when it was only himself, or as it now was, when it was only him and I.

"I suppose you read all day?" he said, starting the conversation. I nodded.

"There isn't much else to do when you're being held prisoner against your will." I retorted. He smiled, a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

"Well, as you know, it could be much worse." The Duke informed me, lazily taking a bite of whatever bird we were eating. "You should be thanking me."

"Thanking you?" I repeated. "Well if that's what you're waiting for, you'll have to wait for a long time." He rolled his eyes.

"Have you decided that today will be the day you will tell me who sent you to steal from me?" he drawled. I shook my head. "I really am getting tired of this." He said. "Tell me or..."

"Or?" I prompted, waiting to see how he would threaten me this time.

"I could kill you," he tapped his chin, "but that would be too fast. I wouldn't be able to get the information I need. Hmmm." He stood now and walked towards me, considering the different possibilities. "I could rip out each of your fingernails, one by one." He said, taking me hand and examining it. "But you have such pretty hands. Why mess them up when you can just tell me the secret you've been keeping all this time?"

Apparently my brain decided I should tell him the secret I had been keeping from him, but it wasn't the one he expected. He had that cocky grin on his face and he was standing close enough to me that I could become intoxicated by him, as I often did in these situations.

"I love you."

I heard the words before I realized that I had even decided to say them. I wondered if I had just imagined them until I saw the surprised look on his face. My cheeks burned and I stood up quickly and excused myself before I could embarrass myself more. I went to my room and banged my head against the wall which brings you entirely up to speed.

Now I'm sitting on my bed, my head in my hands feeling incredibly stupid. Ugh, that was actually the dumbest possible thing I could've done! I feel like banging my head on the wall again but before I can attempt to, the Duke himself walks in.

"Come to ridicule me, have you?" I ask bitterly, not looking at him. I don't know why I'm angry with him. I suppose it's because it's easier to be angry than it is to be broken hearted. He takes a seat at the end of my bed, his air of cockiness and arrogance gone. Instead of his usual ridiculous clothes, he wears a plain white shirt that is unbuttoned at the top and regular trousers. It occurs to me that this might be what he wears to bed, minus the boots. Even his earring is gone. He sighs and rests his head against the wall, rubbing his temples.

"Did you mean what you said?" he inquires. I nod, my eyes filling with tears at what I know his response will be. "Did you ever wonder why I gave you books?" he asks out of nowhere, catching me off guard.

"Not really," I respond with a shrug, wondering where he's going with this.

"Did you wonder why I bought you dresses or gave you a room or spent as much time with you as I did?" I shake my head. I had always supposed, or maybe I had hoped, that it was that he enjoyed being around me. I assumed that the other things were a ploy to get me to tell him who had paid me to steal from him. "Did you ever wonder why you ate the same dinner I did and not the food that all the other prisoners did?" he said this all in a strange tone, his voice filled with more emotion than I had ever heard come from him. "Because I did. I always wondered why I did those things for you. I would wonder why I would stay awake at night thinking about you. I would wonder why I wanted to spend every moment of my day with you. I would wonder why I wanted to be close to you. What you said tonight made me realize why I did these things." He took my hand and my heart skipped a beat. For the first time since he had come into my room, he looked at me.

"I love you." He told me. My breath caught in my throat. A bark of mirthless laughter escaped his lips. "I never thought I was capable of such a thing. At first I thought it was lust but no, lust does not make you feel awfully warm inside and make you want to make the other person happy. It doesn't make you spend every waking moment thinking about them." He kissed my hand. "I love you," he repeated. He kissed up my arm. "I love you." My skin tingled at the feel of his lips against it. He reached my neck and kissed it softly and I sighed. "I love you," he said breathily. He kissed my jaw line. "I love you." My ear was next and after that my cheek. "I love you." Finally he looked me in the eyes, his face inches from mine. "I love you." And then his lips were on mine and it was pure ecstasy.

I guess that sometimes, being stupid has its rewards.

**Love it? Hate it? PLEASE REVIEW! Tell me what you think; I would love to hear it! Did I capture the essence of the Duke alright or was I completely off? I haven't seen the movie in over a year so I actually have no idea what I'm doing :) Anyways, hope you liked it!**

**~Ana**


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